Handbook for Parents
Contents
Introduction
Awards and Achievements
Our Nursery Staff Team
Information about our Educational Programmes
Nursery routine
Nutrition and mealtimes
Useful and important information
Parent’s guide to the Early Years Foundation Stage
Introduction
St Catherine’s Independent Nursery was established in 1998, and although is
situated within the Primary School building, enjoys the benefits of an
independent establishment. The nursery welcomes everyone in the local
community, we maintain a happy, lively and stimulating environment, where
pre-school children aged three to four years, enjoy a high standard of pre-
school education and care.
St Catherine’s Independent Nursery is a registered charity and is governed by
a board of Trustees. The Trustees meet with the managers regularly during the
year to oversee the business of the Nursery, and give their time voluntarily to
the benefit of the organisation. The Trustees are, Mrs Jayne Chester, Mrs Lisa
Maddock, Mrs Belinda Pearson and Mrs Tracy Austin. Jayne is the nominated
person for the nursery, and has overall responsibility for the childcare provision,
and is the main point of contact for OFSTED.
The nursery is a “Full Day Care” facility, and also offers places to parents
seeking part-time/sessional places. The Nursery is registered with the regional
OFSTED office in Manchester, as a childcare provider and currently holds an
‘Outstanding’ outcome from the last inspection. All the Nursery staff have
received the appropriate and enhanced, police clearances and the correct
qualified staff ratio to children, as set out in the Welfare requirements, of the
Early Years Foundation Framework, are observed and maintained at all times.
The Nursery has been approved by Lancashire County Council, as an Eligible
Provider of Early Years Education.
Our aims include:
Providing a safe, secure and happy environment, where each child is
treated as an individual.
To establish a broad and balanced early years curriculum working towards
the Early Learning Goals, as set out in the statutory practice of the Early
Years Foundation Stage framework.
To ensure that each child has equal opportunities to engage in the
curriculum provided, irrespective of gender, race, religion or additional
needs.
To provide opportunities to establish lasting relationships with other children
and adults, encompassing learning, how to respect, share and co-operate
with one another.
To develop an appreciation and respect of the wider world, including
respect for: one another, individual people, ethnic minorities, cultural
differences, the environment and the surrounding community.
Awards and Achievements
Lead Practitioner Setting
We are part of The Lead Practitioner Scheme,
which was established to contribute to the
continued development of high-quality
practice within the Early Years Foundation
Stage throughout Lancashire. We are one of
twenty settings throughout Lancashire that
have been selected to offer support to other
Early Years Foundation Stage practitioners by
acting as exemplars and sharing good
practice.
Lancashire Quality Award
We have achieved the Lancashire Quality
Award which demonstates our strive to
continually improve our practice and to
provide outstanding childcare.
The Lancashire Quality Award is
underpinned by the principles of the Early
Years Foundation Stage and the National
Quality Improvement Principles.
Ofsted – Outstanding grading
We graded Outstanding by Ofsted in January 2017.
‘Staff get to know children exceptionally well and
value their unique qualities. They have a genuine
enthusiasm in celebrating children's individual
achievements and encouraging their strong self-
esteem ‘The manager leads a highly motivated
team of staff who show a genuine desire to help
children to achieve the best outcomes. Children
make excellent progress.’
Millie’s Mark Award
We have been awarded ‘Millie’s Mark’ which is a special endorsement for
childcare providers that go above and beyond minimum requirements by
having 100% of staff trained in paediatric first aid, and also ensuring that
everything learned during the course is kept alive and in the forefront of
practitioners’ minds so that they are confident, ready and capable.
Millie’s legacy
Millie’s Mark is named after Millie Thompson, who died after choking on food
at nursery in 2012 when she was just nine months old.
Millie’s
Mark is
named
after Millie
Thompson, who died after choking on food at nursery in 2012 when she was
just nine months old.
Our Nursery Staff Team
Mrs Brockliss Mrs Marriott Miss Walsh
Nursery Manager Deputy Manager SENCO
BA Hons Degree in Education CACHE - Level 5 PGCE – Early Years
& Professional Studies
Mrs Handyside Mrs Worsley Mrs Leonard
EYE – Level 3 B Ed Hons Degree NVQ – Level 3
NCFE – Level 3
Mrs Weir Mrs Critchley Miss Rowlands
NVQ – Level 3 CACHE – Level 3 NVQ – Level 3
Information about our Educational Programmes
There are seven areas of learning and development that must
shape educational programmes in early years settings. All areas of learning
and development are important and inter-connected.
Three areas are particularly crucial for igniting children’s curiosity and
enthusiasm for learning, and for building their capacity to learn, form
relationships and thrive.
These three areas, the prime areas, are:
Communication and Language - Practitioners provide children with
opportunities to experience a rich language environment; to develop their
confidence and skills in expressing themselves; and to speak and listen in a
range of situations.
Physical Development - Practitioners provide opportunities for young children
to be active and interactive; and to develop their co-ordination, control, and
movement. Children are helped to understand the importance of physical
activity, and to make healthy choices in relation to food.
Personal, Social and Emotional Development – Practitioners help children to
develop a positive sense of themselves, and others; to form positive
relationships and develop respect for others; to develop social skills and learn
how to manage their feelings; to understand appropriate behaviour in groups;
and to have confidence in their own abilities.
Providers must also support children in four specific areas, through which the
three prime areas are strengthened and applied.
The specific areas are:
Literacy – Practitioners encourage children to link sounds and letters and to
begin to read and write. Children are given access to a wide range of reading
materials including books, poems, and other written materials to ignite their
interest.
Mathematics – Practitioners provide children with opportunities to develop and
improve their skills in counting, understanding and using numbers, calculating
simple addition and subtraction problems; and to describe shapes, spaces,
and measures.
Understanding The World – Practitioners guide children to make sense of their
physical world and their community through opportunities to explore, observe
and find out about people, places, technology and the environment
Expressive Arts and Design - Practitioners enable children to explore and play
with a wide range of media and materials, as well as providing opportunities
and encouragement for sharing their thoughts, ideas and feelings through a
variety of activities in art, music, movement, dance, role-play, and design and
technology.
Our Daily Routine
Morning Session
8.00 a.m – 9.00 a.m ~ Breakfast/free play
9.00 a.m ~ Tidy-up time
9.15 – 9.30 a.m ~ Registration/circle time
9.30 – 11.10 a.m ~ Free-flow play
11.10 – 11.20 a.m ~ Tidy-up time
11.20 – 11.30 a.m ~ Story and singing time (Toileting for those children staying
for lunch)
11.30 a.m – 12.30 p.m ~ Lunch time
12.30 – 1.15 p.m ~ Free-play
12.50 – 1.00 ~ Tidy-up time
Afternoon Session
1.00 – 1.15 p.m ~ Registration/circle time
1.15 – 3.30 p.m ~ Free-flow play
2.30 – 3.45 p.m ~ Snack time
3.30 – 3.45 p.m ~ Tidy-up time
3.45 – 4.00 p.m ~ Story and singing time
4.00 p.m – 6.00 p.m ~ Free-play
In addition, the children have a Diddy Dribblers every Tuesday at 9.30 a.m.
until 10.00 a.m. and every Thursday they have a Mini Maestros session at 9.15
a.m. until 9.45 a.m.
Nutrition and Mealtimes
St Catherine’s Independent Nursery is committed to offering children healthy,
nutritious and balanced meals and snacks which meet individual needs and
requirements.
We will ensure that:
• A balanced and healthy midday meal, and two daily snacks are
provided for children attending a full day at the nursery
• Menus are supplied by Lancashire County Council’s Catering Division
and are planned in advance, rotated regularly and reflect cultural
diversity and variation.
• We provide nutritious food at all snack and meal times, avoiding large
quantities of fat, sugar and salt and artificial additives, preservatives and
colourings
• Menus include at least 7 servings of fresh fruit and vegetables per day
• Fresh drinking water is constantly available and accessible. It is
frequently offered to children.
• Individual dietary requirements are respected. We gather information
from parents regarding their children’s dietary needs including any
special dietary requirements, preferences and food allergies that a child
has and any special health requirements before a child is admitted to
the nursery. Where appropriate we will carry out a risk assessment in the
case of allergies and work alongside parents to put into place an
individual dietary plan for their child
• Staff show sensitivity in providing for children’s diets and allergies. They
do not use a child’s diet or allergy as a label for the child, or make a
child feel singled out because of her/his diet or allergy
• Staff set a good example and eat with the children and show good
table manners. Meal and snack times are organised so that they are
social occasions in which children and staff participate in small groups.
During meals and snack times children are encouraged to use their
manners and say 'please' and 'thank you' and conversation is
encouraged
• Staff use meal and snack times to help children to develop
independence through making choices, serving food and drink, and
feeding themselves. Staff support children to make healthy choices and
understand the need for healthy eating
• We provide foods from the diet of each of the children’s cultural
backgrounds, providing children with familiar foods and introducing
them to new ones. Cultural differences in eating habits are respected
• Any child who shows signs of distress at being faced with a meal he/she
does not like will have his/her food removed without any fuss. If a child
does not finish his/her first course, he/she will still be given a small helping
of dessert. Children not on special diets are encouraged to eat a small
piece of everything
• Children who refuse to eat at the mealtime are offered food later in the
day
• Children are given time to eat at their own pace and not rushed
• Quantities offered take account of the ages of the children being
catered for
• We promote positive attitudes to healthy eating through play
opportunities and discussions
• No child is ever left alone when eating/drinking to minimise the risk of
choking
• All staff that prepare and handle food are competent to do so and
receive training in food hygiene.
Nursery Opening Times
Morning session: 8.00 a.m. – 12 noon
Afternoon sessions: 1.00 p.m. – 5.00 p.m.
Full Time: 8.00 a.m. – 6.00 p.m. (Please Note: all parents
need to be on the nursery premises no later than 5.50
p.m. to facilitate a smooth transition to home.)
Morning Free sessions: 8.30 a.m. – 11.30 a.m.
Afternoon Free sessions: 1.00 p.m. – 4.00 p.m.
Please note: it is the Trustee’s policy to charge a “late
pick up fee” of £5.00 for every ten minutes, for any
children who are collected “late” from nursery.
Use of Mobile Phones
Whilst we recognise that there may be emergency
situations which necessitate the use of a mobile
telephone, in order to ensure the safety and welfare
of children in our care, parents and visitors are also
kindly asked to refrain from using their mobile
telephones whilst in the nursery or when collecting or
dropping off their children.
Children’s Toileting
Please make staff are aware of your child’s toileting
needs, i.e; If your child needs toileting assistance, or if your
child is not yet toilet trained.
When your child is ready to be toilet trained your child’s
key person will work with you to toilet train your child and
provide you with strategies to assist you at home.
Safeguarding
To ensure the safety of your child and all of the
children who attend nursery, we ask parents when leaving
nursery to ask a member of staff to open and lock the front
door. This door does not lock automatically when closed
and if left open there is a high risk of children escaping, so
it is imperative that this procedure is followed by all
parents.
Children’s Register
Please ensure that you sign in and out of the daily
register when you drop/pick up your child.
It is vital that nursery staff know how many children are
attending each session in order to complete a head
count at any stage of the day.
The Children’s Register is an important document that
would be used in a fire evacuation in order to
complete a head count and ensure all children are
safely out of the building.
Suitable Outdoor Clothing
Our outdoor area, is a fun and muddy place to
play! We have a Mud Kitchen where the
children enjoy mixing compost, sticks, and
stones making Mud Cakes, and we have a
muddy digging area! Therefore, please could
all parents provide suitable outdoor clothing for
their children, i.e Wellies, waterproof coats, and
highly recommended is an all in one
waterproof outdoor suit. We feel it is of the
benefit of the parents and the nursery carpets, that all children have suitable outdoor
clothing, so that they can access the outdoor area in all weathers.
Home Library
We have a Home Library at nursery as we have a selection
of “Story bags”, “Maths bags”, and “Nursery Rhyme bags”
which include books, puppets, games, recipes, and lots
more exciting ideas for you to interact with your child. Each
bag also contains an information card with suggestions of
how to use the items. For more information please don’t
hesitate to ask a member of staff.
Nursery Rhyme of the Week
Reading, reciting and singing nursery rhymes are
an excellent way to help children get ready to
read. When a child chants a rhyme repeatedly,
they develop key pre-reading skills such as the
ability to hear the distinct sounds that make up
words, discern sound and word patterns and
broaden their vocabulary. Studies have shown that
the more nursery rhymes a child knows, the easier it
will be for children to learn to read. So, at nursery
we have a nursery rhyme of the week which will be
sung at singing time, and we encourage parents to
sing the nursery rhyme at home with their child.
Sound of the Week
At St Catherine’s Nursery we introduce the Letters
and Sounds programme to the nursery children and
parents. Letters and Sounds is a six-phase
programme designed to help teach children to
read and spell with phonics. At Nursery we will
concentrating on Phase One. The aim of this phase
is to foster children’s speaking and listening skills as
preparation for learning to read with phonics.
Parents can play a vital role in helping their children
develop these skills, by encouraging their children
to listen carefully and talk extensively about what they hear, see and do. Each week
we will have a ‘Sound of the Week’, therefore we ask parents if you could help your
child to bring in something from home beginning with the Sound of the Week for our
sound box.
Word of the Week
The staff incorporate the ‘Word of the
week’ into normal routines and activities
throughout the day, and we ask parents to
join in at home to develop their child’s
vocabulary. We have been very
impressed with the children using the
‘Word of the Week’ in the correct context
whilst playing with their friends. Please let a
member of staff know if your children have been using any of the words of the week
at home.
Nursery Policies and Procedures
Our nursery policies and procedures are available to
read from our parent app and website, please ensure
that you read and fully understand all of our policies and
procedures. In particular, our safeguarding, late
collection and non-collection of a child, and lost child
policies and procedures. If you do not have access to the
internet please request to view these policies at nursery or
ask to be provided with copies.
Open Door Policy
At St Catherine’s Independent Nursery we are
proud to operate an open door policy, wereby
parents are welcome to talk to any member staff
at any given time.
However, if you would prefer to speak to a
member of staff more privately, then please ask
to book an appointment for when it is convienent
for both parties.
Nursery Website
Our nursery website can be viewed
@ www.stcatherinesnursery.co.uk
Information available at our website is as follows;
A photo gallery of all of the Nursery Staff and their
qualifications, Nursery Policies and Procedures,
Nursery Newsletters, our latest OFSTED report, and
our Special Educational Needs and Disability Local
Offer document.
Parents Notice Board
The main parent’s notice board is located to the
left of the front door as you come into nursery. On
the notice board you will find information about
the EYFS, our nursery routine, Home-links board,
special moments sheets, contact details for a
speech and language therapist, staff photo
gallery, relevant documentation including our
most recent Ofsted report and contact details for
Ofsted. The notice board to the left of the front
door displays a Smile 4 Life parents handbook information on Hot Lunches provided
by LCC and snacks provided by nursery, including allergy information. There is also a
copy of the Lancashire Safe Parenting Handbook
Parent’s Rota
All parents and carers are welcome to come into nursery to
either stay and play for an hour or show the staff and children
their special skills (i.e. playing a musical instrument, gardening,
or magic tricks!). Parents/carers are only allowed to come into
nursery once every six weeks, due to DBS legislation. Please
speak to your child’s keyperson to arrange a date at your
convenience, and please inform a member of staff if you are
planning a particular activity and require certain resources.
Birth Certificates
Due to new Safeguarding Legislation, as a childcare
provider, it is a legal requirement that we see proof of
Parental Responsibility in the form of a Birth Certificate.
In addition, it is also required as proof of eligibility for
government funding for childcare. Therefore, could you
please bring your child’s birth certificate to nursery as
soon as possible, so we can add your child’s birth
certificate number to our records.
Diddy Dribblers and Mini Maestros
Jack Kerans from Diddy Dribblers visits nursery every Tuesday
morning to provide fun football sessions. Diddy Dribblers sessions are
hugely beneficial for children’s fitness, balance and co-ordination
and a great way to burn off some energy.
Mai-Ling Duckworth from My Mini Maestros visits nursery every
Thursday morning. During the music classes your child as well as
having lots of fun will be tutored in the foundations of music and
other associated aspects of development.
The sessions are an extra cost to all parents, at £2 per session.
Parent Partnership
A planning sheet for parents to complete will be sent out
half termly, explaining what aspect of learning and
development the nursery is focussing on, and parents will be
asked about their child/children’s current interests at home.
Each term a Parent Partnership Evening will be held, were
parents can come along and meet as a group with their
child’s Keyperson, parents can suggest topics regarding the
early years they would like to learn about. Parents evenings
are also held regularly were parents can discover what their
child is learning at nursery and how they can help their child
at home.
Your Child’s Learning Journey
Your child’s ‘Learning Journey’ is individually filed on your child’s key persons’ i-pad.
Parents can view their child’s learning journey at any time through a secure
connection on i-cloud, if you have any queries please speak to your child’s key person
who will be able to help you. This will enable you to see what activities your child
participates in and add your comments or ideas for next steps in your child’s learning.
Parents are also provided with ‘Next Steps for Home’ to help you in supporting your
child’s learning and development at home.
Government funding
All 3 and 4 year-olds are already entitled to 15
hours of childcare a week and the government
has built on this by providing an additional 15
hours to working parents of 3 and 4 year olds The
additional 15 hours of childcare will be available
for families that meet the Government’s
eligibility criteria. To check whether you are
eligible go on the Childcare Choices website :
www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/
Special Moments
Special Moments sheets can be found on the Parents Notice
Board, please feel free to take one or more! Please use
Special Moments sheets to record anything your child learns
at home. It could be anything they say or do which they
couldn’t do before. For example, they might share really
nicely with their sibling, count buttons on their clothes, re-tell
a story or tell you something they learnt about at nursery.
Please don’t forget to write the date too! Feel free to attach
their pictures or photographs. When its full return it to your
child’s key person and it will be added to your child’s
assessment records.
Monitoring children’s attendance
As part of our requirements under the statutory
framework and guidance documents we are
required to monitor children’s attendance
patterns to ensure they are consistent and no
cause for concern.
Parents should please inform the nursery prior to
their children taking holidays or days off, and all
sickness should be reported into the nursery on
the day so the nursery management are able to account for a child’s absence.
Absences can be reported via our Parent app.
If a child has not arrived at nursery within one hour of their normal start time the
parents will be called to ensure the child is safe and healthy. If the parents are not
contactable then the further emergency contacts will be used to ensure all parties
are safe.
Lunch Times
Children can either have a hot lunch provided by the
school at a cost of £2.30 per day or they can bring a
packed lunch. Please ensure your child is provided with
a healthy packed lunch, no fizzy drinks and no large
bars of chocolate. For ideas on what to include in a
healthy lunch box, have a look on our parent app or
go to the Change 4 Life website and search for Healthy
packed lunches.
Forest School
On a Wednesday morning the nursery children
have Forest school.
Forest School promotes children’s self-belief,
confidence, learning capacity, enthusiasm,
communication and problem-solving skills and
emotional well-being. Please see our Forest
School Handbook for more information.
Parents Views Count
At St Catherine’s Independent Nursery we value all parent’s views and opinions.
Thus, we have a parents Suggestion Box and a
parents Comments Tree which are located near
the fish tank.
Please feel free to jot down any ideas you have to
improve any aspect of nursery and post it into the
suggestion box provided!
We also provide new parents with a questionnaire
after their child is settled, and Parents
questionnaires based on the EYFS themes every six
months, so please ensure that you complete it and
have your say on what we do best and what we
can improve on.
Please feel free to read the comments placed by other parents on the Comments
Tree, and/or to write your comments about nursery, positive or negative, and add
them using the leaves provided.
Nursery Newsletter
Every month parents receive the nursery
newsletter via our Parent App or email,
however if you would prefer a hard copy then
please inform Mrs Brockliss.
Our nursery newsletter has all the important
dates for your diary, home learning ideas and
the area of development that we are
focussing on
Parent App
Our Parentapps Connect System provides parents with instant
access to our calendar, event information, newsletters/ letters
home, website, social media and much more. Parent’s can report
absences and update their contact details directly from within the
app.
Parents’ Guide to the Early Years Foundation Stage
Framework
Exciting times ahead for you and your child
What is the Early Years Foundation Stage?
Welcome to the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), which is how the
Government and early years professionals describe the time in your child’s life
between birth and age 5.
This is a very important stage as it helps your child get ready for school as
well as preparing them for their future learning and successes. From when
your child is born up until the age of 5, their early years experience should be
happy, active, exciting, fun and secure; and support their development, care
and learning needs.
Nurseries, pre-schools, reception classes and childminders registered to
deliver the EYFS must follow a legal document called the Early Years
Foundation Stage Framework.
What is the EYFS Framework – why do we have one? The EYFS Framework exists to support all professionals working in the EYFS to
help your child, and was developed with a number of early years experts and
parents.
In 2012 the framework was revised to make it clearer and easier to use, with
more focus on the things that matter most. This new framework also has a
greater emphasis on your role in helping your child develop.
It sets out:
• The legal welfare requirements that everyone registered to look after
children must follow to keep your child safe and promote their welfare
• The 7 areas of learning and development which guide professionals’
engagement with your child’s play and activities as they learn new skills
and knowledge
• Assessments that will tell you about your child’s progress through the
EYFS
• Expected levels that your child should reach at age 5, usually the end
of the reception year; these expectations are called the “Early
Learning Goals (ELGs)”
There is also guidance for the professionals supporting your child on
planning the learning activities, and observing and assessing what and
how your child is learning and developing.
What does it mean for me as a parent?
Ensuring my child’s safety
Much thought has been given to making sure that your child is as safe as
possible. Within the EYFS there is a set of welfare standards that everyone
must follow. These include the numbers of staff required in a nursery, how
many children a childminder can look after, and things like administering
medicines and carrying out risk assessments.
Quality
You can find out about the quality of your child’s nursery and other early
years providers in relation to the EYFS Framework by checking what the
Government’s official inspection body for early years, Ofsted,has to say
about it. You can find this information at www.ofsted.gov.uk/inspection-
reports/find-inspection-report.
How my child will be learning
The EYFS Framework explains how and what your child will be learning to
support their healthy development.
Your child will be learning skills, acquiring new knowledge and demonstrating
their understanding through 7 areas of learning and development.
Children should mostly develop the 3 prime areas first. These are:
• Communication and language;
• Physical development; and
• Personal, social and emotional development.
These prime areas are those most essential for your child’s healthy
development and future learning.
As children grow, the prime areas will help them to develop skills in 4 specific
areas. These are:
• Literacy;
• Mathematics;
• Understanding the world; and
• Expressive arts and design.
These 7 areas are used to plan your child’s learning and activities. The
professionals teaching and supporting your child will make sure that the
activities are suited to your child’s unique needs. This is a little bit like a
curriculum in primary and secondary schools, but it's suitable for very young
children, and it's designed to be really flexible so that staff can follow your
child's unique needs and interests.
Children in the EYFS learn by playing and exploring, being active, and
through creative and critical thinking which takes place both indoors and
outside.
The diagram below gives examples of the areas of learning and
development and shows the links between the way in which your child
learns and what they learn.
For example, in
reading between 2 ¼
and 4 years: learning
how to suggest an
ending to a story
For example, between 2 ¼ and 3 ¾
years: learning about special times
or events for family or friends and
being able to describe them. Being
able to talk about some of the things
they have observed such as plants,
animals, natural and found objects.
For example, between
3 ¼ and 5 years:
learning to control
objects by pushing,
patting, throwing,
catching or kicking
For example, between 2 ½
and 4 years: learning to be
confident in talking to other
children when playing, and to
talk freely about own home
and community
For example,
between 1 ¾ and
2 ½ years:
developing an
understanding of
simple concepts
such as big/little
For example,
between 1 ¼ and 2
years: enjoying
filling and emptying
containers in the
bath
For example,
between 2 ½ and
4 years: learning
how to explore
what happens
when they mix
colours
As a mum or dad, how can I help with my child’s learning? All the fun activities that you do with your child at home are important in
supporting their learning and development, and have a really long lasting
effect on your child’s learning as they progress through school.
Even when your child is very young and is not yet able to talk, talking to them
helps them to learn and understand new words and ideas. If you make the
time every day to do some of the following things with your child it will make
a real difference to your child’s confidence as a young learner.
If you're looking for new ideas for things to do then find out what is on offer at
your local children’s centre. Many offer ‘messy play’ activities which you and
your child can join in with, and many of the activities they provide are free.
Staff can also give you advice about the kinds of books or other activities
your child might enjoy at different ages.
Talk about the numbers, colours,
words and letters you see when
you are out and about
Sing and tell
nursery
rhymes Allow your child to cut
out and stick pictures
from magazines
Plant seeds or bulbs in a
pot or garden patch
Cook / bake
together
Use the weather – shadows, rain
puddles, snow, wind, mist and sun – to
extend your child’s vocabulary
Explore the park at a
different time of the year
– go off the beaten track
Talk to your child at
every opportunity – e.g.
what you are doing that
day
Share a book
On a trip to the
supermarket, talk
about all the
different packaging
shapes
How can I find out how my child is getting on? It is important that you and the professionals caring for your child work
together. You need to feel comfortable about exchanging information and
discussing things that will benefit your child. These conversations will either
need to be with your childminder or, in a larger setting like a nursery, with your
child’s “key person”. This is the person who:
• Is your main point of contact within the setting
• Helps your child to become settled, happy and safe
• Is responsible for your child’s care, development and learning
• Takes a careful note of your child’s progress, sharing this with you and
giving you ideas as to how to help your child at home
You should be able to get information about your child’s development at any
time and there are two stages (at age 2, and again at age 5) when the
professionals caring for your child must give you written information about
how he or she is doing.
Try to speak to your child’s key person as often as
possible about what your child has been doing,
what they have enjoyed, what they need to be
doing more of and what you can do at home.
When your child is 2
At some point after your child turns 2, the professionals working with your child
must give you a written summary of how your child is progressing against the
3 prime areas of learning:
• communication and language;
• physical development; and
• personal, social and emotional development.
This is called the progress check at age 2.
This check will highlight areas where your child is progressing well and any
where they might need some extra help or support – and how mums and
dads and other family members or carers can work with the key person to
help. You might find it useful to share the information from the check with
other professionals such as health visitors (who can use it as part of the health
and development review).
When your child is 5
At the end of the EYFS – in the summer term of the reception year in school –
teachers complete an assessment which is known as the EYFS Profile. This
assessment is carried out by the reception teacher and is based on what
they, and other staff caring for your child, have observed over a period of
time.
Another important part of the EYFS Profile is your knowledge about your
child’s learning and development, so do let your child’s class teacher know
about what your child does with you: such as how confident your child is in
writing their name, reading and talking about a favourite book, speaking to
people your child is not so familiar with or their understanding of numbers.
All of the information collected is used to judge how your child is doing in the
7 areas of learning and development. Finding out at this stage how your child
is doing will mean that the teacher your child has in their next school year –
year 1 – will know what your child really enjoys doing and does well, as well as
helping them decide if your child needs a bit of extra support, what that
support should be and if they are already getting it.
The school will give you a report of your child’s progress, including information
from his or her EYFS Profile.
Where can I go for further information? The most important place to find out more is your child’s childminder or
nursery – do ask as many questions as you need to. Providers really do
welcome speaking with you.
You may want to find out what is on offer at your local children’s centre.
You can find the Early Years Foundation Stage which includes the early
learning goals at www.foundationyears.org.uk. The foundation years website
also includes a range of resources and contacts.